Europa
by PastaWar19
Summary: All over Europe, one song comes to unite and remind the European nations about the war and the bloodshed of different historical events through the National European Radio. Is or was the world really as peaceful as we think? -No pairings-


Hetalia: Axis Powers

Europa

**Opening Notes: **Hello everyone, and welcome to this new fan fiction by yours truly. It's actually my very first song fic, and I am totally proud. Well, I was watching AMVs like BasicallyAnIdiot's Axis Power Hetalia – Europa on YouTube (/watch?v=C2Z13JIa2LM), which initially inspired me to make this, and IHerzMilka's Cruelest of Atrocities (/watch?v=mXJkb2-I-wQ), which I greatly enjoyed a few weeks after publishing this fic.

APH is owned by Hidekaz Himaruya and Europa is a song by the awesome band Globus.

* * *

_From Agincourt to Waterloo_

_Poitiers and then Anjou_

Memories flashed quickly through Francis Bonnefoy's mind. His blue eyes darted from the magazine he was reading to the radio. The song being played on it attracted his attention right from the first- no, second- word of the song.

Agincourt. As a nation, he remembered every detail. It was Friday, the 25th of October 1415 and it was all so bloody. The losses were huge and the amount of blood was incredible. Francis remembered that day wherein he had been defeated by L'Angleterre with the skilled, English longbowmen. It was terrible.

And then came Waterloo. That memory brought shivers down the Frenchman's spine. Napoleon Bonaparte had started losing, and that battle on the 18th of June, 1815 had been his last. France remembered the very moment Napoleon had crashed, and he knew that would haunt his memory forever. He missed those days when the Napoleonic Wars were won by him. That battle marked its end; it was a disastrous defeat.

Poitiers was another battle in the Hundred Years War that had been won by England. It was the second, actually, and France hated it. The 19th of September 1356 was one of the days the French nation would not want to reminisce on…

So, after that was Anjou. That county had had a vicious cycle of rulers throughout the years, and France could not care less about them. It had been such a long time ago since dukes and successors would pass on, and making Anjou go back to its old situation would only make France squirm.

Francis Bonnefoy had retrieved terrible memories from just two lines of the song.

_The Roses War, the Hundred Years_

_Through battlefields of blood and tears_

_From Bosworth Field…_

Just across the English Channel, Francis did not know that Arthur Kirkland was having memory attacks as well. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was listening to the song. As soon as it had begun to play on the radio, the Englishman spat out his tea on the first few lines. The third and fourth had specifically brought more shock than the first two.

When he heard the Roses War come onto the song, Arthur's emerald green eyes narrowed as he remembered the painful civil wars between the Houses of Lancaster and York. From 1455 to 1485, he had experienced several, drastic wars between his people and- well, his people. It was terrible.

The Hundred Years War was an entirely different case. This made him think about Francis Bonnefoy, the nation of France. He had always been arguing with him ever since forever ago, and the war lasting for 116 years did not help their relationship much. England couldn't help but cringe at the amount of blood he and France had stabbed and shot off each other, though…

Yes, those were definitely wars with battlefields of blood and tears, no matter how hard Arthur wished it were not true.

He gaped at the radio when Bosworth Field reached his ears. The song knew exactly how to bring memories to him, and that was something he didn't expect to encounter that day. The Battle of Bosworth Field was the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, and the Lancastrians had won on that 22nd of August, 1485. The Englishman decided not to listen to the song and lowered the volume.

"This is probably just another American rock opera band of wannabe historians…" he muttered to himself sarcastically.

…_to Pointe du Hoc,_

_Stalingrad…_

Ludwig Beilschmidt looked up from the papers he was supposed to sign. He had first thought that the song sounded fine, but when the lyrics started playing, he couldn't help but wonder if other nations were listening to this right now.

The German nation frowned slightly at the mention of Pointe du Hoc. He remembered the exact date: the 6th of June, 1944. He remembered the moment he was standing there with his troops at Omaha beach, and remembered when one of his men came running to him, saying that Allied forces- mostly Americans, rather- were attacking the point. The rush of adrenaline and the sound of field guns came back to the German, and he shook his head as he remembered that he lost that one- it was an Allied victory.

Stalingrad was a completely different thing. Germany thought of Adolf Hitler, and how he was planning to attack Russia. His boss at that time was mad, crazy… Yet they had somehow managed to attack the southern Russian city from July 1942 to February 1943. He remembered his Nazi self shooting at Soviet Russia, and how the amethyst eyes seemed to glow with anger as they fought. The battle was a Soviet victory, and was among the bloodiest in the history of warfare. Germany shuddered. That wasn't something you'd get from a song everyday…

…_and the Siege of York._

_The bloody turf of Gallipoli-_

_Had no effect on the killing spree._

_Bannockburn…_

Arthur wondered whether the song was really trying to annoy him on purpose.

It was from April to July in 1664 when the Siege of York had happened. Arthur hated thinking about the English Civil War because of this; the Parliamentarians and the Royalists were less than calm, actually a little bit violent, during the contest for York.

Then, there was Gallipoli. The Gallipoli Campaign, or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place in the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey on April 1915 to January 1916. England remembered that he and France worked together to catch the Ottoman capital of Istanbul during the First World War, so that they could secure a route to Russia. The attempt failed, and the casualties on both sides were dreadful. It was an Ottoman victory.

Arthur stiffened more when the battle of Bannockburn was mentioned. It was on the 23rd to the 24th of June 1314 and was a significant Scottish victory during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Arthur definitely did not want to remember anything any longer at this point, and continued reading his book.

…_to Austerlitz_

_The fall of France…_

Francis froze from his lazy position on the couch as he started recognizing more lyrics from the song. He looked at the radio and started catching a few reminiscences of history.

The battle of Austerlitz was one of Napoleon Bonaparte's greatest victories, and was also the end of Third Coalition against the French Empire. Francis remembered the wonderful victory on the 2nd of December 1805, which he won against Russia and Austria. He frowned and thought about the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire; was he actually that powerful back then? Now, that could not be answered at the present…

After that was the fall of France. Francis shuddered, hating the fact that it was called his fall. He tried to stop the memories from rushing into his mind, but it was useless. From the 10th of May to the 25th of June 1940, Germany had come to invade him, and it was successful- and painful. Vichy France had been created, and the German occupation resulted into the Second Armistice at Compiegne. Francis shook his head, not wanting to think about it any longer.

"_Mon Dieu_… This song is out to get me, _non_?" he said to himself.

…_and the German Blitz_

Arthur almost threw his book at the radio in frustration as soon as the German Blitz came on.

The bombings started on the September of 1940, in London, and continued for 57 consecutive nights until the May of 1941. The bombings that Germany had thrust upon England had killed about 43,000 innocent people. Arthur stood up when the memories became too painful- the Blitz devastated the British although it resulted in German strategic failure.

_The cruelest of atrocities-_

_Europa's blood is borne of these_

He was about to turn off the radio when the next lines came up. Arthur paused, contemplating on Europe. He did realize- almost all of the wars that had happened on earth originated or were caused by Europe. It came in the blood of Europeans- the craving for war, and the cruelest atrocities to ever be committed.

Arthur decided not to turn off the blasted contraption and sat back down, listening to the lyrics. This wannabe historian rock opera band wasn't that bad after all...

_Heaven, help in all our battles_

_Heaven, see love_

_Heaven, help us_

Ivan Braginski was listening to Europa, thinking that the song was catchy. He was leaning on the wall, looking out at the snow-covered ground before him. He caught a few familiar lyrics but boldly shook them away.

Behind Ivan were Toris, Raivis, Eduard, Feliks, Natalia, and Yekaterina. They were all just hanging out at Ivan's house that day because he insisted on having some fun. Well, the song played, and Ivan got caught up in it.

Secretly, Natalia liked the line "Heaven, help in all our battles". It reminded her of cowards who would pray for the exact same thing during battle. It also reminded her of the fact that she was going to kill China for taking her brother away from him; yes, she needed heaven to help her on that one. The Belarusian nation had a glint in her eyes as she stood quietly behind everyone.

Yekaterina smiled wistfully at the lyrics "Heaven, see love". She so very much wanted everyone to just live in love and peace, without war. The Ukrainian nation hated it when Ivan or Natalia would act all evil. She just wanted love.

Meanwhile, the three Baltic nations were silently praying to themselves "Heaven, help us." The song didn't exactly help but just made them more desperate. They hated it when both Ivan and Natalia were in the same room with them, and it was also not a good sign that they were both quiet.

As for Feliks, well, he would never dare tarnish his happy-go-lucky reputation but he couldn't help but have goosebumps as he listened to the song.

_Bolsheviks…_

When Ivan heard the Bolsheviks come in the song, he dropped the sunflower in his hand. His amethyst eyes seemed to glow as he remembered the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Bolsheviks coming to power, founding the Soviet Union. He closed his eyes and hummed himself a little Russian tune, blocking out all other sounds from the small radio. That was definitely not worth remembering for the Russian nation.

"Hmm… It's a nice song, _da_?"

The six other nations stared.

…_and feudal lords_

_Chivalry…_

Francis almost laughed out loud in amusement. Feudalism had originated in medieval Europe, and he remembered having it in his place at one point. When chivalry was mentioned, Francis' grim smile faltered and then widened. Chivalry originated in France during the late 10th century. He started to like some things that were mentioned in the song…

…_to civil wars_

Most European nations all over Europe were listening to the song through N.E.R. or the National European Radio. This line was most probably the one that struck everyone at the same time the most. It brought shivers and memories of civil wars experienced by even the most innocent or tough nations.

_Fascist rule…_

Feliciano Vargas, for once, stopped eating pasta in the middle of finishing it. Lovino noticed his silent brother, and started calling his attention. Not hearing the song, he decided to finish the delicious piece of Italian cuisine by himself.

Italy remembered the word fascism. It reminded him of someone- his boss during World War Two. "R-Romano… we had fascist rule before, right?"

"_Si_, idiot, under Benito Mussolini in World War Two. Why the hell are you asking?"

"The song…"

"?"

…_and genocide_

_Now we face the rising tide_

_Of new crusades, religious wars_

_Insurgents imported to our shores_

_The western world gripped in fear_

_The mother of all battles here_

_Heaven, help in all our battles_

_Heaven, see love_

_Heaven, help us_

By now, most European nations listening to the song were starting to feel sentimental and reminiscent of moments in history.

Genocide was one word that could bring shivers down any nation's spine. It was one of the worst and most painful things that a country could go through, which was terrible.

Crusades and religious wars were dominant a few centuries ago, and religion was something that was being fought wars for, back then. Nations would argue and defend their religions, which resulted in the Crusades; religious wars were also one thing that nations would avoid talking about.

Insurgency could happen to any nation yet it was also a slightly rare thing. Most would hope that insurgents would not evolve in their places, and it usually gave headaches to nations experiencing so.

Yes, the song- Europa- was right. Europe was a very dangerous and destructible place for the people living there and the people going there. At least, it was more of a threat years ago. Anyone could say that Europe was the mother of all battles because it was debatable and logical.

That was something that defined Europe perfectly.

_Avant hier, avons etre_

_Deja demain, (nous) sommes eclairee_

Francis smirked at the French part. He knew that his language was very beautiful; who wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to add French words to a song? Although he was quite proud to have his language in the song, he couldn't deny how loose the French was. Well, he was France, anyway, and he loved having his own language perfect. "Before yesterday, we have to be. Already tomorrow, we are lit." That was definitely not perfect in Francis' opinion.

Even though, it was beautiful simply because it was French.

After that was the interlude, or the instrumental. It had war written all over it, and anyone who would listen to it would immediately feel the sorrow, loss, and devastation felt over war. Although it could completely destroy people and nations, war had its advantages too. After a huge fight, breakdown, or invasion, people would always stand up and rebuild, rehabilitate their country. Pride, hope, and glory would accompany them. After a dark, endless tunnel, there is always light. After it rains, there should always be a rainbow.

_All glory, all honor_

_Victory is upon us_

_Our savior, fight evil_

_Send armies to defend us_

In one of the northernmost tips of Europe, five nations were listening to the National European Radio as well. Europa was playing and they were all looking at each other intently. The song had interested and amused them because it had stated a lot of real European facts. Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland were all huddled around a tiny radio in a cozy hut in Svalbard.

War leaves an effect on most people, especially those who have been in actual war. Glory, honor, and victory are all at stake, and blood is often shed. The five Nordic nations sitting together knew that.

If war makes such an impact on humans, then it is actually worse on nations- terribly worse.

_Empires built and nations burnt_

_Mass graves remain unturned_

_Descendants of the dispossessed_

_Return with bombs strapped to their chests_

Almost all European nations have built empires, and whenever it was done, the said nation would feel powerful. War almost always came with having an empire, and when it isn't won, a nation would burn. Painfully burn- not literally in the outside, but in the inside. All nations experienced this.

When a huge amount of people in a certain country die, when the graves in a cemetery increase in number, when death grows larger and devastates a huge community, a nation would feel it. A nation would scream in pain because of it.

Especially when there is a particular reason for the deaths, a nation would feel like bombs. Yes, bombs. The pain of the people would be felt by the nation, and death was the worst thing to ever be felt by one.

That was why nations would hate feeling burnt.

_There's hate for life, and death in hate_

_Emerging from the new caliphate_

_The victors of this war on fear_

_Will rule for the next thousand years_

The underlying cause of death and war in Europe was greed. Greed, then pride, and afterwards, hate for anyone who stands in the way of glory, honor, or victory. If the hate would accumulate inside people's feelings, then it would increase to a hate for life. In this, we could easily say that death is the effect.

Life is a war. It's a war for survival, for success, and for happiness. Without hope, love, and glory, there would never be a happy ending. Those who survive, or are victors of the war which is life, will pass on their lives to the next generations. All conquerors of death, those who still live happily, will continue a legacy of human life that lasts for thousands of years- even more.

But death and war always stood in the way.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a large mansion in Vienna, Austria, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo was on the phone, talking excitedly to Francis Bonnefoy on the other line. Roderich Edelstein rolled his eyes at the racket the nation was making in his house while Elizaveta Hedervary soothed him, reminding him that at least Gilbert Beilschmidt had left an hour ago. Vash and Lillian Zwingli sat and talked to each other, ignoring the ruckus in the room.

Suddenly, Antonio turned and grabbed the radio, pressing the ON button. He switched to the N.E.R. station or the National European Radio as Francis said.

_All glory, all honor_

_Victory is upon us_

_Our savior, fight evil_

_Send armies to defend us_

"Um, Spain? What's with the rock opera song? It's not your genre."

"Ssh, listen! Francis said the song had a lot of intriguing lyrics…"

Austria and Hungary kept quiet and listened to the song, catching the lyrics "Our savior, fight evil" until the end.

"Ohh… I see, brother, it's a war song of Europe!" Liechtenstein said excitedly, moving closer to the radio that Spain was holding. Switzerland nodded, recognizing the war theme and the "Europa, Europa".

_Europa, Europa_

_Find better days before us_

_In kindness, in spirit_

_Lead us to a greater calling_

They were all reminded of glory, honor, victory, evil, war, and in general, Europe.

"The pervert's actually right. This song is good."

* * *

Back in Moscow, Ivan was alone, still leaning on the wall and looking at the snowy ground. The rest of the nations with him had left just a moment ago, due to Natalia scaring the Baltic nations with her knife.

He stood silently; the only sound breaking the silence was the radio. Suddenly, Leningrad was mentioned. The Russian nation stiffened and his amethyst eyes began to narrow, slightly glowing.

_Leningrad…_

Leningrad was a different thing; the Siege of Leningrad was another. Leningrad was a north western Russian city, and is now known as St. Petersburg. The Siege of Leningrad was a German military operation to capture Leningrad during World War Two, which the Soviet army attempted to counter. It started on September 1941 and ended on January 1944; Ivan recounted the pain and anger he felt during the siege, wherein millions had died. It was one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history, the most costly in terms of casualties, and the most lethal siege in world history- but in the end, it was a Soviet victory.

This lyric shook Russia the most and he just painfully pushed the memory away, like he did with the previous lyrics that reminded him of war.

* * *

In Berlin, Gilbert Beilschmidt banged the door of a huge house open and yelled, "Yo West, I'm back! What's up?"

Instead of finding his brother replying irritably, he found a serious Ludwig seated on the desk in front of a radio. "Germany?"

"Ah. Prussia. I was just listening to this Europe war song…"

_Berlin Wall…_

There was an awkward silence. Germany fidgeted in his seat and looked down at his feet while Prussia froze, caught by surprise.

Anyone who knew the two brothers well would know why this was their reaction. The Berlin Wall was a concrete barrier built by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) that completely separated East Germany from West Germany, specifically through Berlin. After the wall's erection, around 5,000 people attempted to escape over the wall, resulting in the death toll of around 100 – 200 Germans. The Wall stood from August 1961 to November 1989 and the fall of the Berlin Wall paved way for German reunification. Whenever it was mentioned to either of them, they would always react awkwardly, especially if they were together when mentioned.

"So, uhh, _bruder_… This is the song you were talking about?"

"_Ja_…"

_March on Rome_

_Byzantium's Fall_

Italy once again stopped in the middle of finishing his pizza and looked at his brother.

"Ve~ Romano… Do you remember the March on Rome?"

Romano stared at him as if he had just eaten trash. "Of course! What the hell's wrong with you today? It's the march when Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party came to power in the Kingdom of Italy. Duhh…"

"Oh yeah! It was from October 27 to 29, 1922. Now I remember."

The two were quiet and thought pensively in silence. Suddenly, Italy broke the silence, asking, "And what about the Byzantium's Fall?"

"It's also known as the Fall of the Byzantine Empire, or the Fall of Constantinople in 1453," Romano said, looking at his younger brother, "I don't have to explain it to you, do I?"

"…"

"Oh well… I'm doing this because there isn't any food and it's not like I'm doing anything better, anyway. So the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire was laid by the Ottoman Empire. This resulted in its end. Constantinople was made into an Ottoman capital and that siege was the beginning of the Christendom's modern age."

"Oh. I knew that."

"THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU MAKE ME EXPLAIN?"

_Lightning War_

_Dresden Nights…_

Germany may have been in Berlin with Prussia in the present, but his mind was taken back into times of World War II. He remembered the Blitzkrieg operations during 1939-1941 for his country to invade most of Europe. The flaws of these plans, however, were only recognized during the Invasion of the Soviet Union, and the Lightning War had only been deemed successful in the first half of the war.

He then shook his head when Dresden came up. The Allied bombing of the German city of Dresden happened on the 13th – 15th of February 1945. This military bombing devastated the city, and was actually brought out by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force.

Prussia stared at the radio and wondered who else could be listening to the song. Germany wondered the same.

_Drop the bomb_

_End this fight_

Europe is the world's second smallest continent and third most populous, but has some of the world's most powerful countries. It played a predominant role in global affairs from the 16th century to the present, ever since the European nations started colonizing. A lot of European nations controlled the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania, and large portions of Asia.

Both World Wars were largely focused on Europe, resulting in a decline of European domination during the 20th century. During the Cold War, Europe was divided into an Iron Curtain separating communist countries and non-communist countries. Ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet Union, the European Council and the European Union have been expanding and spreading peace and unity.

But then… will war ever come again?

If only some kind of huge, Godly hand could just drop down from heaven and release a sort of powerful atomic bomb, one that would cause such an impact that war would instantly stop. Many wish for world peace, many wish for the world's chaos and pain to cease. If only we could just end it all with a quick snap, then war will truly end. Fortunately, the world right now is generally in a state of partial peace, the rest caused by poverty, discrimination, crime, greed, and many others. We are fortunate. We are lucky- that the world isn't a huge fiery hell of battle and hate.

The question is… if war ever comes again, what would happen? Will war ever even come again? Only we can answer that.

_Never again_

If we don't end war, war will end us. –H.G. Wells

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Okay, I hope you people like it. If there are any errors, complaints, reactions, compliments, praises, or anything whatsoever, you can review. If you really do want to insult or flame me, the I'd prefer it if you just send me a private message. I procrastinated A LOT on this because I edited all the mistakes and checked and re-checked if I got everything correct. Hopefully, people would actually read an appreciate this._

_Please and thank you for reading! :)_

_-Pasta W 19. :P_


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